The arrogance of successful companies

As per Jagadish Sheth's recent article, about the arrogance of successful companies with a case in point about Cisco, Microsoft, and the IBM of the late 80's...he also mentioned that Infosys may be going in the same direction. He talked about the abusive treatment of employees by management as one of the indicators of a successful company becoming arrogant.
Recently, the Infosys HR dept announced some drastic policies for its exiting employees. This could be the beginning of a gradual distaste of joining Infosys.

The rising price of milk

The rising price of milk is something to be of real concern. Today we are paying Rs.19/- per litre in Bangalore city. This works out to Rs.1425/- per month on an essential commodity like milk!! To make matters worse, the new price is to become Rs.21 per litre which translates to an astounding Rs.1525/- per litre!! The government must step in to do some major price control.

Ritz-Carlton to open 1st hotel in Bangalore

With the Ritz-Carlton opening up a five star hotel in collaboration with Nitesh Estates [see excerpt of the article from The Economic Times, May 15, 2007], that makes it 4 five star hotels coming up in Bangalore [Hotel Leela near Devanahalli airport, ITC's property in Richmond Circle, Hotel Radisson in Mallya's property on Vittal Mallya Road, and of course, The Ritz Carlton].
Excerpts from The Economic Times, May 15, 2007:MUMBAI: The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, leader in global luxury hospitality, has announced plans for its first hotel project in India. This Bangalore-based Ritz Carlton, to be developed by Nitesh Estates, will be a 250-room, five-star property. The total project cost, pegged at $100 million, will be funded through a mix of debt and equity. Citigroup has committed $30 million as the first tranche of investment in the hotel project, to be opened by early 2010. This project marks Nitesh Estates’ foray into the hospitality segment, one of the fastest growing and a lucrative segment for the real estate and construction industry. “Initially, Ritz Carlton is coming up in Bangalore. We hope to continue this partnership in other cities, “said Nitesh Shetty, MD, Nitesh Estates. In line with its positioning, some of the most premium global luxury brands like Cartier, Gucci and Louis Vuitton are all expected to open up hi-end retail boutiques in the hotel, industry sources said. Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo will be the architect and Peter Silling will be the interior designer for the hotel. “India represents the next great international expansion opportunity for the Ritz Carlton,” said Simon F Cooper, president and CEO. The US-based Ritz Carlton operates 63 hotels in North and South America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East

Formula 1 Race in Singapore @ 2008

This is great news for F1 fans. A race in Singapore which is these days a "hop step & jump" from India.

Hotel Aquaserene

True to its name, Hotel Aquaserene, truly offers calm[serene] waters[aqua] to allow the mind to relax. Visit this backwater resort located near Kollam in Kerala. It is owned by the Tulip Resorts Group of companies [Its chairman is Ajit Kerkar, the former MD of Indian Hotels]. For more details log onto www.aquasereneindia.com.

Maruti SX4

Maruti has just launched the SX4 priced at about Rs.6 lakhs [ex-showroom price]. History indicates that Maruti has never done well in the upper car segment...case in point...the Grand Vitara & the Baleno. This probably has to do with the brand image of Maruti as the "Air Deccan" of the automobile industry.
Hence, the SX4 will probably not do all that well.

Renault - Mahindra's Logan

The new car by Renault-Mahindra called Logan, seems to have come a bit late in the day. The already crowded marketplace with so many cars will prove to be difficult.
Also the Logan's appearance [For example its headlights, taillights, and overall body] appears to be a bit dated.

Sarkozy as French President

The election of Nicholas Sarkozy as French President is probably the best thing to happen for France. While it is a good idea for France to be more tolerant of immigrants from different nationalities, illegal immigration is something that needs to be dealt with ruthlessly while abiding by the laws of the land.
Sarkozy appears to be a tough no-nonsense kind of a guy on such issues.

Amitabh Bachchan's New Trend in movies

Is Amitabh Bachchan showing signs of becoming senile? His proclivity in acting in movies with themes about an elderly gentleman getting romantically involved with a girl who is half or one-third his age seems to be on the rise.
First it was Nishabd...and now Cheeni Kum.

Sample

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: You may have only heard about the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, but you can actually see the new ‘Hanging Garden of Mumbai’ under construction, and at a blistering pace at that. We are talking about the future residence of Reliance group chairman Mukesh Ambani on South Mumbai’s Tony Altamount Road. Mr Ambani is expected to shift to his new residence by 2008 end, when the 40-storey building will be completed. “The construction work is on at full speed, two floors are being added every 10-12 days,” a source told ET. The project cost is estimated at around Rs 400 crore. Even as the building plans have been kept under wraps, sources say that the Ambanis’ new residence will have little less than 1 lakh square feet of built-up area (the cost of space on Altamount Road is around Rs 18,000-20, 000 per sq foot) with facilities comparable to any five-star hotel. The building will be green, literally so. The tower, when completed, will look like a vertical garden with creepers going all the way to the 40th floor reflecting Mr Ambani’s love for greenery. The top four floors are designated as the core family residence with a health club and swimming pool in the intervening floors. The bottom six floors will be dedicated to parking. Similarly, separate floors are being planned for the kitchen, laundry and other services, sources said. The entire building will be covered by a WiFi system. For rest and recreation, it will have a mini-auditorium where the Ambanis can watch movies along with friends. The tall building will have both indoor and outdoor swimming pools besides a gym, a library (study) and other facilities. In every aspect, bar one, it will be a dream house for Mr Ambani. His dream of having a helipad on top of the building may not come true. The government is unlikely to give permission, sources said